Psychological and social paradigms have dominated translations and interpretations of shame terminology in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars often adopt modern notions of shame as either internal feelings of worthlessness or external social sanction, and then apply those notions to the biblical text. I suggest that there is need to reevaluate whether or not such psychological and social frames are appropriate to biblical terminology of shame. My essay contends that shame terms, such as #$wb, Mlk, and their cognates and synonyms, frequently denote the experience of 'diminishment' or 'harm' in ways far more physical than typically reflected in modern renderings.

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NEGLECTED PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS â€œ SHAME â€
OF
immediate context, such as the authorâ€™s point of view, or a point of
view only perceptible to external viewers. As such, a wordâ€™s
connotative value can vary independently of a wordâ€™s denotative
value, resulting in varying configurations of connotative and
denotative value. vwb-synonyms may (a) denote physical affects but
connote psychological or social â€œshameâ€, (b) denote and connote
physical affects, (c) denote and connote psycho-social â€œshameâ€, or,
(d) the distinction between denotation and connotation might be
unclear or merged.
Biblical lexicographers and interpreters have often ignored the
denotative meanings of vwb-synonyms (e.g., â€œphysical harmâ€) by
attending solely to their â€œshamefulâ€ social or psychological
connotations, and by assuming the third scenario. In order to
disentangle some of this lexical confusion, my study will first draw
attention to cases where the first and second scenarios occur. The
final part of this study will highlight one borderline case where Î¼lk
seems to denote both a physical and psycho-social event.
I. Drought and â€œShameâ€
Hebrew vwb-synonyms recur in several prophetic texts that deal
with droughts. In Jer 14,3-4, for example, we read about servants
of Judean nobles who looked for water during a drought, but were
wmlkhw wvb â€œ shamed and humiliatedâ€ because their cisterns were
empty, and so they â€œcover their headsâ€. Likewise, farmers â€œcover
their headsâ€ because they are â€œhumiliatedâ€ (wvb). It is tempting to
interpret these vwb-synonyms as instances of social or even
personal shame and embarrassment, as indeed many scholars have
done 7. However, physical explanations of vwb and Î¼lk make better
sense in this passage.
In particular, the verbs vwb and Î¼lk in Jer 14 denote a process
of physical weakening or diminishment. First, in its only other
HUBER, Shame/Shaming, 126-27; 222. N.R. BOWEN, â€œDamage and
7
Healing : Shame and Honor in the Old Testamentâ€, Koinonia 3-4 (1991-92) 31;
J.R. LUNDBOM, Jeremiah 1-20. A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AB 21A; New York 1999) 696; W.L. HOLLADAY, Jeremiah 1
(Hermeneia ; Minneapolis, MI 1986) 431; J.A. THOMPSON, The Book of
Jeremiah (NICOT ; Grand Rapids, MI 1980) 379; H. SEEBASS, â€œvwB bÃ´s â€, Ë‡
TDOT II, 55.